Lions and Tigers
by Kathy Rose
Summary: Hoshi rescues two creatures from an alien marketplace. Will they be able to adapt to life on Enterprise, and more importantly, will the crew be able to adapt to them? COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

Title: Lions and Tigers

Author: Kathy Rose

Rating: K

Category: Humor

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to someone else, etc., etc., etc. I'm not making any money, I'm just having fun with the characters. Wish I'd thought of them first.

Summary: Hoshi rescues two creatures from an alien marketplace. Will they adapt to life on Enterprise and, more importantly, will the crew be able to adapt to them? Thanks to Ozchick, the bestest beta ever!

CHAPTER 1

Hoshi made sure she was the first one back to the shuttlepod. She stowed the large cardboard box in the back and covered it with a thermal blanket, taking care not to block the airholes.

By the time she sat down on one of the bench seats she was flushed and out of breath. She only had a few moments to wonder exactly what she was getting herself into when Travis stepped into the shuttlepod, followed by Trip and Malcolm.

All three were weighed down with packages and in a good mood, laughing and teasing each other about their purchases.

"Hey, Hoshi!" Trip said when he spied her sitting there. "I can't believe you're the first one back. Usually we have to pry you away from the shops."

She favored him with a small, nervous smile while trying to look nonchalant.

When she didn't say anything, he asked, "What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?"

She blanched but he didn't notice. He was too busy piling his packages on the bench seat across from her.

Her ears strained for any sound from the rear of the shuttlepod. She hoped Trip's loud voice wouldn't stir up her purchase. In an effort to divert his attention from her and what she had bought, she asked, "What did you get?"

"All kinds of stuff," Trip replied cheerfully.

"More than he could carry," Malcolm said, adding the items he had been carrying to the stack on the bench.

"Hey, a lot of it's for the ship, not me. Found a new titanium alloy we might be able to incorporate into one of the systems. It's supposed to be more durable than what we're usin'."

"You have only the merchant's word for that," Travis said from the helm where he was preparing to start the engine.

Trip sighed as he sat down in one of the bucket seats behind Travis. "At this point, I'm ready to try anything."

Hoshi almost asked if this had something to do with the intermittent problems the Engineering crew was having with the injector system but caught herself. The last thing she wanted to do was draw attention to herself and the box at the back of the shuttlepod.

"Do you really think this particular alloy will be better?" Malcolm asked as he took the other bucket seat.

Hoshi let out the breath she'd been holding. Knowing Malcolm and Trip, they'd keep each other amused by arguing the pros and cons of Trip's latest idea until they reached Enterprise. Once they docked, her purchase would be a fait accompli. They'd hardly want to turn around and go back down to the planet to take back a couple of--

The engine roared to life. With the slightest of jerks, the shuttlepod began moving upward, and Hoshi's sensitive ears picked up another noise under the usual rumble.

She glanced anxiously at her companions, but Travis was involved in piloting and Trip and Malcolm were bickering good-naturedly. None of them was paying her the slightest attention.

She cautiously reached back and lifted the edge of the blanket. Staring back at her through the air holes were two pairs of green eyes, one set surrounded by fur the shade of orange marmalade, the other by gray fur striped with black. The noise she'd heard got louder.

Hoshi quickly put her finger to her lips, trying to shush them, then felt foolish when she realized what she was doing. She hastily dropped the edge of the blanket.

The ride back to Enterprise took thirty minutes. Hoshi spent the time alternately trying to think up good reasons to keep the creatures and worrying what the captain's reaction would be. He'd brought his dog along, after all. But then again, he was the captain. Nobody had said anything about lowly ensigns having pets on board.

Too soon the docking arm was clamped onto the shuttlepod and pulling them into the launch bay. The side-to-side swaying motion of this procedure upset one of the occupants of Hoshi's container, and she heard a raspy chuffing sound come from under the blanket.

As Trip and Malcolm turned their heads in her direction, Hoshi quickly put a hand to her mouth and coughed. She did it several times as the men looked at her in concern.

"You OK, Hoshi?" Trip asked when her fake coughing fit subsided.

"Yes," she said. "I had a tickle in my throat. You know how they can be."

He nodded and turned back to Malcolm, resuming their conversation.

It wasn't until the launch bay door was sealed beneath the shuttlepod and the bay repressurized that she relaxed a bit. She'd gotten past the first hurdle -- they were on board.

Trip and Malcolm, still involved in their discussion, picked up Trip's parcels. Hoshi slid to the far end of the bench, intending to be the last one out. It was an agonizing couple of minutes but at last the two men departed, still debating the conductivity and strength of the new alloy.

That left Travis. He was shutting down the engine, running down the short post-flight checklist. Finishing up the list, he glanced into the back of the shuttlepod.

"Hoshi? What are you still doing in here?" he asked.

She rose to her feet as he did the same. What the hell, she thought. Everyone was going to know sooner or later.

"I need your help with something," she said as he moved toward her.

She glanced over at her blanket-covered container, and Travis followed her gaze.

"Is it too heavy for you?" he asked. "I can carry it, if that's what you want."

"It's pretty heavy, but I think I can manage," she said, wringing her hands.

"What is it?" he asked curiously.

Hoshi took a deep breath and looked him in the eye. "Cats," she said softly.

He laughed. "That's funny. I thought you said 'cats.'"

"I did."

He stared back in disbelief. "You found cats in the marketplace?"

She nodded.

"Earth cats?" he asked.

She nodded again.

He shook his head. "Hoshi, I really don't think we're supposed to bring animals on board without some kind of permission."

"They were going to be sold--"

"That's usually what happens to animals in a marketplace," he said.

"--for food!"

Her pronouncement rendered Travis speechless. At the stunned look on his face, Hoshi knew she had him where she wanted him.

She moved over to the container and removed the blanket. Two pairs of eyes stared out, one set slowly squeezing shut and opening again as if performing a double wink. The low, hypnotic purring increased in volume.

"I don't want to be around when the captain hears about this," Travis murmured.

"Thank you, Travis," she said, covering the box again. "You won't regret this."

"I'm regretting it already," he said as he picked up the container and moved toward the shuttlepod hatch. "Man, they're heavy. How many are there?"

"Just two."

Hoshi stepped over to the hatch and looked out, making sure the coast was clear. If she could make it all the way to her cabin without being seen and hide them a little longer, it would be even harder to dislodge her two "guests." She might even be able to keep their presence a secret for a time.

Her hopes were dashed as she and Travis started across the launch bay. The door to the corridor opened and in stepped the captain.

Even worse, Porthos was at his heels.

"I saw Trip and Malcolm in the corridor," Jon called out as Hoshi and Travis froze halfway between the shuttlepod and the launch bay door. "They seem pretty happy with everything you got down in the marketplace."

Travis shot a glance at Hoshi and shifted the container, lifting his knee under it to hoist it up for a better grip.

Hoshi looked helplessly at Jon. Knowing the captain, she'd never get past him without him wanting to know what was in the box. Her half-baked plan was going to be shot down.

"So, what's in the box?" Jon asked as he walked toward them.

"Ah..." Hoshi started, unable to think of anything to say.

"It's not mine, sir," Travis said innocently, and Hoshi shot him an evil glare.

"Oh? Helping out Hoshi? That's very gentlemanly, Travis," Jon said with a smile. Shifting his attention to Hoshi, he asked again, "So what's in the box?"

Porthos, who had been pattering around happily, chose that moment to sniff her feet. All three humans were startled when the beagle began to growl deep in his throat and the hair on the back of his neck stood up.

"Porthos!" Jon said. "What's wrong with you? You know Hoshi. Come here, boy."

Porthos ignored his master and turned his beady beagle eyes on Travis, sniffing his boots. The growling continued unabated, growing louder as the dog raised his head and focused on the box Travis was now holding even higher.

"Whatever you have in the box doesn't seem to agree with Porthos," the captain remarked. "What's in there?"

Porthos began barking, jumping up and trying to get at the box which was now vibrating and emitting hissing and spitting noises. The covering blanket slid off onto the deck.

"Travis?" Jon said, a note of alarm in his voice. "Is there some kind of creature in there?"

Travis was too busy to answer, trying to stay on his feet as he danced away from Porthos while holding on to the unwieldy, heavy box, which was coming apart in his hands.

Jon gazed at Hoshi, who broke down immediately. She couldn't lie to the captain.

"There are two cats in there, sir."

"Cats?" he repeated, a frown marring his usually genial features.

"Yes, sir. Cats."

Jon pursed his lips. Without a word, he walked over to Porthos, grabbed the dog by its collar, and pulled him away from Travis. Picking Porthos up and holding him securely in his arms, Jon said, "I'm taking Porthos back to my quarters. I expect to see both of you in my ready room in fifteen minutes."

He turned his back on the pair and strode for the launch bay door, where he turned to take one last look at the two ensigns and the rapidly disintegrating cardboard box.

"Don't bring the cats," he said, and his command was underscored by a snarl from Porthos.

* * *

Author's Note: The two cats in this story are very closely modeled after our neighbor's pets, which we would catsit upon occasion, and which now are semi-permanent residents at our house. I couldn't work my own little black cat into the story. However, she did sit on my shoulder and supervise while I wrote this. Any bad puns or jokes about cats are her fault. 


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

Hoshi and Travis stood at attention in front of the captain's desk. So far he hadn't said anything. He'd let them stand there while he looked at something on his computer screen.

The captain was a dog person. He liked dogs. A lot. It was too much to hope that he was a cat person as well. By the look on his face in the launch bay, Hoshi didn't think he was. Right now she'd settle for him having a tolerance for cats, just so long as he wasn't afraid of them. Some people had an irrational fear of cats, and if the captain was one of them, he'd want them off the ship pronto.

Hoshi risked a glance out the corner of her eye at Travis, and saw him looking back at her. She'd have to explain to the captain that she'd talked Travis into helping her. She didn't want to get the big lug into trouble.

The door chime sounded and Jon called out, "Enter!"

Hoshi heard the door swoosh open behind her, followed by soft footfalls.

"You wished to see me, Captain?" came T'Pol's calm voice.

Looking up from the screen, Jon said, "Yes, I think I may need your advice about something concerning our two ensigns here."

He stood and gestured for T'Pol to come forward to stand next to him.

"I've been going over Starfleet regulations," he said.

T'Pol looked from him to the two junior officers. "Have Ensigns Sato and Mayweather committed some infraction?" she inquired mildly, one eyebrow arched.

"That's just it," Jon said. "I don't think they have."

Hoshi closed her eyes in relief but snapped them back open as he continued in a stern tone, "When regulations aren't clear on a particular topic, it is up to the captain to formulate a rule or guideline."

T'Pol blinked once. "Obviously, this situation is not about fraternization between the two ensigns," she said. "There are quite specific regulations about fraternization, but one thing is clear -- since they are of the same rank, many of the sanctions against onboard relationships would not apply."

All three Starfleet officers stared at her. Hoshi gulped, not knowing whether to be embarrassed or amused. From the corner of her eye she could see Travis biting his lip. The captain's face, meanwhile, had turned an interesting shade of pink.

"No, no!" Jon said. "That's not it at all."

T'Pol looked at him, her head cocked to one side, waiting for him to get to the point.

"Hoshi has brought two cats on board," he said as if that explained everything, and sat down at his desk.

T'Pol, her hands behind her back, turned to look at him. "I assume these cats were procured in the marketplace on the planet."

Hoshi nodded when the sub-commander glanced at her.

"Perhaps we should ascertain why Ensign Sato deemed it necessary to bring these creatures on board," T'Pol suggested.

"Yes, Hoshi," Jon said. "Please tell us why you felt the need to bring two cats on board."

"They...were...for sale..." Hoshi started out hesitantly, but the words came tumbling out more quickly as she continued to talk. "They were in with a bunch of exotic animals in one of the market stalls. I suppose the cats seemed exotic to the merchant who was selling them. I have no idea how he got them. Probably some Earth freighter that stopped here. Anyway, he said he'd never seen anything like them and--"

"Ensign!" Jon let out a small explosive breath. "Why did you buy them?"

Hoshi swallowed and allowed a quaver to come into her voice. "They weren't being sold as pets, sir. The inhabitants of this planet raise livestock and they also hunt wild game for food. Whoever bought the cats would probably have...eaten them," she said with a horrified expression. "It was a butcher's stall, sir," she added with a finality that was hard to argue with.

There was a long silence.

"You bought them to save them from being killed and eaten?" Jon finally asked softly, both compassion and grudging acceptance in his manner.

"Yes, sir," Hoshi replied, and risked adding an emotional appeal. "The cats are Earth cats, sir. When I saw them there, sitting in those cages, their big eyes looking at me... The only thing I could think of was Sushi and Sake sitting in those same cages. How could someone kill them to eat them?"

"Sushi and Sake?" T'Pol asked.

"My cats when I was little," she said. "They were my pets."

Once again silence descended on the ready room, broken only by the drumming of Jon's fingers on the desktop. Hoshi took a small measure of solace in the fact that he hadn't ordered her to return them. Yet.

She saw Jon flick his gaze to T'Pol, who straightened her shoulders.

"If I may?" the sub-commander asked him.

"By all means," Jon replied.

T'Pol drew a breath and began to attack the problem in her usual logical manner, but her first words surprised Hoshi.

"I must agree with Ensign Sato's actions," she said. "As a vegetarian, I find the practice of consuming meat abhorrent. The concept that live animals are bartered for food is barbaric."

A tiny bubble of hope welled up in Hoshi. The sub-commander was backing her on this!

"In addition, I have noticed the attachment that humans develop for pets," T'Pol continued, looking Jon square in the eye. "They form emotional bonds with them. The concept of animals commonly thought of as pets or companions being used as food could be detrimental to the mental health of certain humans."

So far so good, Hoshi thought, although that last crack about mental health was uncalled for. Sneaking a glance at the captain, she saw his earlier blush had given way to an unnatural paleness. She hoped he was thinking about how he'd feel if Porthos was spitted and roasted by somebody who thought of the little dog as nothing more than their next meal.

"And finally," T'Pol said, "in my study of Earth's history, I have found references to ship's cats. It was not uncommon to find them aboard sailing vessels, particularly in the 18th and 19th centuries. They served the useful purpose of rodent control."

Having said her piece, T'Pol turned to face the captain fully as he rose to his feet.

"This isn't a sailing ship and we don't have any rats," he said tersely. "And what would happen if everyone in the crew decided they wanted to bring pets on board?"

"This is different, sir," Hoshi said. "I rescued them."

"Yes, you did," he shot right back. "I won't dispute that. What's to be done with them is another matter."

He went to stand by the window, gazing out at the planet rotating peacefully below them. "We can't send them back. We'll just have to keep them until we can find a good home for them."

A broad smile broke out on Hoshi's face and she all but jumped up and down. "Thank you, sir!"

"Don't thank me yet," Jon said, unable to keep a small smile from his face either. "You will be entirely responsible for their care. And if they cause problems, I may have to revise my decision."

"You won't have to, sir," Hoshi said. "I'll make sure they don't cause problems."

"There are some conditions," he added. "Where have you put them?"

"In my quarters."

He nodded. "Good. That's where they are going to live. But take them to sickbay and have Phlox check them. I want to make sure they aren't bringing any alien organisms on board. The last thing we need is an infestation of the local equivalent of fleas."

Jon paused to rub his hand across his eyes before looking at Hoshi again. "I don't want them underfoot. And keep them away from Porthos." He stared at her a moment. "Dismissed."

Hoshi and Travis turned on their heels and headed for the door. As Travis opened it, Jon called out, stopping them. "One more thing."

Hoshi turned, her brow furrowed, wondering what more conditions he could possibly put on the cats and her.

"Do me a favor," he said with a funny look on his face. "Don't name them Sushi or Sake, or anything else that has to do with food. Pick out something more appropriate for a starship."


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks, everyone, for the nice comments. I'm happy you're enjoying this story. It's going to have a total of 9 chapters, btw.

* * *

CHAPTER 3

"So what are you going to name them?"

Hoshi pondered Travis' question as they watched the two cats cautiously explore her cabin.

Actually, only the orange one was exploring. The gray-striped one had immediately run under her bunk after being released from the box and refused to come out. Occasionally its black nose would poke out, but any noise or movement sent the nose and its owner back into the shadows.

The orange cat was more adventurous. It had emerged from what was left of the box like royalty, shaking its body as if to remove the dust from traveling, and had proceeded to plod around the room at a leisurely pace, sniffing the furniture and the deck delicately with a pink-tipped nose.

They were the biggest cats Hoshi had ever seen, easily weighing 12 kilograms each. The gray one with black stripes had short hair while the orange tabby had longish fur. The lighter shading around the latter's neck reminded her of a lion's mane. Perhaps the resemblance to the king of the jungle explained its regal bearing, Hoshi thought whimsically.

"The captain said to name them something appropriate," Hoshi said. "To tell you the truth, I hadn't given much thought to names. I was more worried about getting them on board."

"Are they boys or girls, or one of each?" Travis asked from his perch on the edge of Hoshi's desk.

"I didn't get a chance to check," she said dryly. "Phlox can tell me for sure."

Travis shifted on the desk, causing the black nose, which had slowly been poking out farther from under the bunk, to jerk back.

"We'll need to find something better to put them in to take them to sickbay," he said. "They tore up that box too much to hold them now."

"I also need to see about getting food and water bowls and a litter box."

"Better you than me," Travis said with a grin. "We used to have cats on the Horizon. I hated cleaning the litter boxes."

"If you scoop it once a day, it's not so bad," Hoshi said absently as she watched the orange cat disappear into the bathroom. "I suppose it's too much to hope they're trained to use human facilities."

Travis laughed. "I've heard of cats that can do that. Maybe you can train them in your spare time."

The door chimed as she gave him a dubious look. Opening the door, she was surprised to see Trip standing there holding a large metal cage.

"Thought you might like something a little sturdier to take our newest crewmembers to sickbay," he said.

Hoshi stared at him, dumbfounded that he knew about the cats. He gave her a grin to rival the Cheshire cat's and said, "I've been around cats before. Even you can't imitate the sound they make when they're coughin' up a hairball."

"You knew about them on the shuttlepod?" Hoshi asked as she waved him into her cabin. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I figured you had a good reason for bringing them on board. I also ran into the captain a few minutes ago and he told me," he replied, glancing down as the orange cat rubbed against his legs. "That's not a cat! Cats are supposed to be scrawny and scruffy lookin' and smaller. Would ya look at the size of those feet!"

Hoshi chuckled. "Maybe barnyard cats, but not these two."

Trip set the cage down and was squatting to pet the cat when the door chime sounded again.

"Did you tell anyone else about the cats?" Hoshi asked as she went to the door again.

"Nope," Trip said as he scratched the cat behind the ears, only to have it drop down and roll on its back, all four paws in the air. "Cats don't do this, either. They usually hate havin' their stomachs touched."

"Malcolm!" Hoshi said in surprise as she opened the door.

Malcolm took in the scene in the cabin and smiled. Extending his hand, he said, "I thought perhaps you might need something to feed them."

She inspected the labels on the two cans he handed her. "Tuna!" she said as she gestured for him to enter. "Thank you, but how did you know?"

"You know how polished Trip likes to keep all the equipment," Malcolm said, watching the orange cat wend its way around the engineer's legs. "I saw their reflection on a console screen when you lifted the blanket to quiet them."

Malcolm glanced around. "Where's the other one?" he asked.

"Under the bed," Travis remarked, scooting over to make room for Malcolm to lean up against the desk.

Instead of joining him, Malcolm held out his hand to Hoshi for one of the cans. "If you'll allow me," he said. "Luckily, cats are one thing I'm not allergic to. Hang on to that one so it doesn't come over here, would you, Trip?"

"The one under the bed is a big scaredy cat," Travis said as Malcolm popped open the lid on the tuna. "It's not going to come out from under there."

"Then you aren't familiar with the almost miraculous effect that tuna has on a cat's attitude," Malcolm said, sinking down onto his haunches.

Everyone watched as he held out the can of tuna toward the opening under the bunk. After a few moments, he put it down on the deck and withdrew his hand. As if by magic, the cat's head appeared, its nose twitching furiously as it homed in on the tuna.

"Mew-rowl!" came an indignant cry from the orange cat as it wiggled against Trip's grasp, trying to head for the open container of food as the scent of fish wafted across the cabin.

As if its fellow cat's eagerness was reassurance enough that whatever in the can was harmless, the gray-striped cat took a cautious bite of tuna. It immediately hunched down and started eating quickly.

Hoshi hunted around in one of her desk drawers until she found a small saucer. Wresting the food away from the gray cat, which had put a paw possessively on the rim of the can, she tipped roughly half the tuna onto the saucer. She passed the saucer to Malcolm, who passed it to Trip.

"Here ya go, big fella," Trip said as he put the plate on the floor in front of the now prancing cat. It at once hunkered down and dug in. The gray cat, which had watched the food distribution with suspicion, did the same when the can was placed in front of it again.

"I wonder when they were last fed," Travis said softly as they watched the cats devour the tuna.

Hoshi shrugged. She'd been too appalled at finding the cats in a butcher's stall to think about anything other than rescuing them.

Malcolm, meanwhile, was coaxing the gray cat out. Every few bites or so, Malcolm would reach over and slide the can a little farther away from the bunk. The cat had no choice but to follow if it wanted to keep eating.

When the cat was all the way out, Malcolm switched tactics. He began to gently stroke its neck and shoulders. The first time he did this, the cat flinched and stopped eating, but it resumed eating when Malcolm did nothing more than pet it.

"As soon as they're finished, I need to get them to sickbay," Hoshi said, her gaze switching back and forth between the two cats and the two men hovering over them. She hadn't realized Trip and Malcolm liked cats. It was funny the things you still didn't know about people even after serving with them for a couple of years.

The cats were licking the saucer and can clean when she said, "Tell me, Malcolm, if you knew there were cats on the shuttlepod, why didn't you say anything?"

Malcolm straightened up. "There aren't any regulations about having cats on board," he said.

"I wonder why not," Travis said.

"Starfleet is like any other bureaucracy in some regards, more reactive than proactive. It's probably never come up before," Malcolm said. "And the prohibition in the regulations against live animals is only for alien species."

"But still..." Hoshi said.

Malcolm exchanged a glance with Trip, who goaded him by saying, "Yeah. Why didn't you rat on Hoshi? There may not be anything in the regs about cats on board, but it isn't something I can see you puttin' up with."

Malcolm looked away, but not before Hoshi saw a twinkle in his eyes. He cleared his throat and said, "Considering the captain has a pet, I really didn't think he'd decide against Hoshi keeping the cats. Who am I to argue with authority?"

Trip snickered, which caused the orange cat to stop its after-dinner wash-up and stare at him before getting up and leaning against the engineer's legs.

"I think that one likes you, Trip," Hoshi said with a smile.

"And that one likes Malcolm," Travis said.

Hoshi looked over to see the gray-striped cat rubbing the side of its chin against Malcolm's knee.

"He's marking you," she said.

"I hope this doesn't mean I have to feed him every day from now on," Malcolm said with a touch of his usual asperity.

"I'm not even sure if he is a he," Hoshi said.

She moved over to the cage and opened the door. The clink of the latch caught the cats' attention, and the orange one immediately walked over to investigate. The other stayed where it was, watching carefully. The orange one circled the cage, sniffing it, then climbed inside. It turned around once and sat down, looking at its companion.

To the group's amazement, the gray-striped cat walked over to the cage and climbed in too.

Hoshi leaned down and shut the door to the cage.

"That pretty much tells me they were someone's pets," she said. "They've done this before, and they aren't particularly afraid of a traveling cage."

"Let me get that for ya, Hoshi," Trip said, stepping over. He grunted as he picked up the cage. "I can't believe how heavy these guys are. If I'd known, I'd have brought two cages."

Hoshi and the cats and their entourage made their way out the door and to the turbolift. By now, Hoshi wasn't surprised that the cats went along without complaint. They were obviously well-traveled. She just hoped they weren't put off by an examination from an alien doctor.


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks, everyone, for the great comments on this story so far. And in case you've been wondering (although remember what happens to cats that get curious), this is the chapter where we find out what the cats are named.

CHAPTER 4

Trip put the cage on one of the biobeds when they arrived in sickbay. Both cats' ears swiveled around, trying to locate the source of the sounds coming from the doctor's menagerie. The swishing of the orange one's tail didn't bode well for the creatures. Hoshi made a mental note not to allow the cats alone in sickbay.

When she opened the cage door, the orange one stepped right out and paced the length of the biobed. The gray one remained in the back of the cage.

"Cats!" Phlox said when he came around the partition. "My friend Doctor Lucas has a cat. Delightful animals!"

He lapsed into silence. Hoshi bit her lip to keep from laughing out loud. Doctor Phlox and the orange cat were engaged in a staring contest, and she had no idea which one would blink or look away first.

Then Phlox reached out and stroked the cat's head. A loud purring immediately rumbled from its chest and its eyes closed in catly ecstasy.

"Well, you're quite sociable, aren't you?" Phlox said with a huge grin as the cat opened its eyes again. Looking at Hoshi, Phlox added, "I assume you're here to have the cats checked for health problems before they settle in."

"Does everyone on board know about them?" Hoshi asked. It was hard to keep a secret in a small, closed community, but the cats hadn't even been on board for two hours. This had to be a new record for gossip dissemination, even by Enterprise standards.

"The captain informed me I was to have two 'patients' to check," the doctor said as he continued to stroke the cat. "Luckily, I delved into the mysteries of cat medicine after meeting Doctor Lucas' pet. Remarkable creatures, really. Spend much of their time sleeping or resting. At other times, they are given to unexpected outbursts of energy. Why, one time--"

"I don't mean to interrupt," Trip said, "but I've got to get down to Engineering. Rostov and Kelly are still trying to track down that problem with the injectors, and I need to see if they've made any progress."

"Thanks, Trip," Hoshi said, and he waved as he moved toward the door.

_"Meow!"_

Hoshi looked over to see the orange cat at the end of the biobed closest to the door, its tail thrashing to and fro as it watched Trip leave.

"You're right, Hoshi. I think that one's getting attached to Trip," Travis said. Standing up from where he'd been lounging against another of the beds, he added, "I need to get going, too. Are you going to be able to get them back to your cabin OK?"

Before Hoshi could answer, Malcolm said, "I'll stay and carry them back when they're finished."

After Travis departed, Phlox began running a scanner over the orange cat, which batted at the device as the doctor moved it around him.

"Definitely an Earth cat," Phlox said, his eyes on the scanner's readout. "Male. Healthy, although a bit overweight. I'll need to take a blood sample to check for some of the more common ailments that can afflict felines."

"So he's male," Hoshi said. "What's the other one?"

Phlox held the device over the gray cat, scanning through the cage. "This one is male as well. His health is much the same as his brother's. And both have been neutered."

"His brother's?" Hoshi asked.

"Yes. They are from the same litter," Phlox confirmed as he looked at the scanner's readout.

"They certainly don't look anything alike," Malcolm said. "Except for their size, of course."

"Different colorings are not uncommon in mixed breed cats from the same litter," Phlox said. "But you'll notice that the orange coat has lighter markings in the classic tabby pattern. They're not as noticable as the ones on his brother."

The orange one picked that moment to begin purring again. Hoshi smiled.

"You know what that reminds me of?" she said. "It sounds like the warp engine when it's cranked up to about Warp 3."

The purring became louder.

"Or maybe Warp 4," she amended.

"If it gets any louder, he's going to breach," Malcolm said over the rumbling.

"That's it!" Hoshi said. "You just gave me an idea for his name."

Both men looked at her expectantly.

"I'm going to name him Warp Core," she said.

Phlox raised his eyebrows as he contemplated the name, but Malcolm frowned.

"Warp Core?" Malcolm said. "Isn't that rather...unusual?"

"The captain told me to pick appropriate names for them," she said stubbornly. "What could be more appropriate for a starship cat than Warp Core? Besides, he does seem to have taken a fancy to Trip. An engineering-related name fits."

Malcolm shrugged and Phlox chuckled.

"What about the other one?" Phlox asked, gesturing to the gray-striped cat still huddled in the back of the cage.

"I don't know yet," she said. "Maybe I'll have another inspiration."

Phlox turned to his medical tray and picked up a hyposyringe.

"I need to get blood samples," he said. "You may have to restrain them. Some animals don't like to have this done, even though it's painless."

Hoshi moved over and firmly grasped Warp Core, holding him in place on the biobed. He uttered a small grunt in protest but didn't struggle. Phlox was able to extract a blood sample quickly with no problem.

When Hoshi released him, however, Warp Core haughtily turned his back on them and jumped off the bed. He began an inspection of sickbay.

"The other one needs to be out of the cage for the procedure," Phlox said. "Hold him securely."

Taking a deep breath, Hoshi inserted her arm into the cage. This cat was different from his brother. He was more cautious and liable to put up a fuss if he thought he was going to be hurt. She grasped him by the scruff of the neck and pulled him out as all four paws scrabbled for purchase to stop his exit from the relative safety of the cage.

She held him tightly in her arms to keep from spoiling Phlox's attempt to extract blood.

"Hurry up, Doctor!" she said as she grappled with the protesting cat. "He's got -- Ow! -- claws."

Phlox reached over and got the sample, and Hoshi loosened her hold. The cat immediately sprang from her arms and, like a bolt of dark silver lightning, streaked for the sickbay doors, which were opening to admit someone.

"Stop him, Malcolm!" Hoshi cried.

Malcolm dove for the cat, grabbing it as he landed flat out on the deck at Captain Archer's feet. In the tussle, the zipper of Malcolm's jumpsuit had been pulled down several inches, and the scared cat tried to burrow inside.

Hoshi couldn't make up her mind whether to laugh or cry. She glanced at Jon's face, which appeared to be impassive, but she thought she saw a smile lurking around the edges of his mouth.

Jon reached over and thumbed the button to close the door.

"That should keep your prisoner confined to sickbay," Jon said, looking down at Malcolm. All that could be seen of the gray cat was its tail. The rest was hidden inside Malcolm's uniform.

Malcolm pushed himself upright just as the cat rearranged itself, pulling its tail in and sticking its head out of the uniform's opening. Jon leaned over and gave Malcolm a hand, pulling him to his feet.

"Thank you, sir," Malcolm said, moving his other arm up to support the cat on his chest and keep it from sliding down any farther inside his uniform.

"He reminds me of another patient I've had in sickbay," Phlox said with a straight face, looking pointedly at Malcolm, "except the cat's faster than you are, Lieutenant Reed."

Hoshi began to laugh as Malcolm's cheeks took on a pink tinge, and Jon let out a small chuckle.

"Can I help you, Captain?" Phlox inquired.

"I came down for some aspirin," Jon replied. "I have a headache, but I think what I just saw helped get rid of at least some of it."

Malcolm's cheeks turned an even darker shade. To make matters worse, the cat put its front legs on the tactical officer's shoulders, stuck its nose in his face, and licked the tip ofhis nose.

Hoshi picked picked up a faint sound. It was the first time she'd heard the cat purr since the shuttlepod.

"He looks like he feels safe with you, Malcolm," Hoshi said. "Even after you tackled him."

Warp Core picked that moment to sashay over. He sat down directly in front of Jon and looked up at the tall man.

"This one seems a lot calmer," Jon noted.

"Warp Core has a lot of self-confidence," Hoshi said, moving over to help Malcolm pry the gray cat out of his uniform.

The cat had other ideas. It had its paws behind Malcolm's neck, hanging on with its front claws stuck in the armory officer's collar.

"Warp Core? That's what you named him?" Jon asked. He squatted and began stroking the orange cat. "What about the other one?"

"I haven't come up with a name yet," Hoshi said.

"If I might make a suggestion," Phlox said.

Hoshi was still trying to unhook the cat's claws from Malcolm's collar. "Sure," she said distractedly.

"Seeing how fast it moved and how it likes Lieutenant Reed, how about Phase Pistol?"

Hoshi finally succeeded in removing the cat from Malcolm, but it was Malcolm who answered the doctor.

"No, not Phase Pistol," he said. "The beam from a phase pistol is bright. This cat is more like a torpedo, silver in coloring and silent in flight."

"Torpedo!" Hoshi said, hugging the softly purring cat in her arms. "Perfect."

_"Meow!"_ seconded Warp Core.

* * *

Malcolm helped bring the cats back to her cabin after Phlox finished their examinations. She wound up carrying the cage with Warp Core in it while Torpedo, who had adamantly refused to re-enter the cage, nestled in Malcolm's arms as they walked along.

When they arrived at her cabin, they found a small pile of items at her door. Somehow Travis had rounded up a litter box, scoop, and litter.

The accompanying note pointed out that since he'd found the equipment, he'd done his part to welcome the cats. In case that wasn't clear enough, he'd added in large block letters: I don't do litter boxes.

The box looked suspiciously like one of the plastic bus tubs from the mess hall. The scoop looked like one of the utensils Chef used when he prepared vegetables in a small deep fryer. She hoped Travis wasn't going to get in trouble for taking them, especially if Chef found out what they were being used for.

The litter looked like common sand. They had some items like that in storage, although, for the life of her, Hoshi couldn't think of why they'd need sand on a starship.

She put the box in the bathroom. It just fit between the commode and the shower, for which she was thankful. She really didn't want to have the litter box in the main cabin, which was where it would have gone if it hadn't fit in the bathroom.

Both cats watched with interest as she filled the box with sand. Both used it with no urging from her, thank goodness.

That evening, as she got into bed, she reminded herself to ask Travis where he'd gotten everything. At the very least, she'd have to replenish the sand supply.

And she'd have to talk to Chef for sure. She had only a single can of tuna left, and no idea what other suitable food for cats was available.

The captain had made it clear he didn't want the cats to cause problems, so they'd have to be confined. She hoped they wouldn't get bored, cooped up in her cabin by themselves all day long.

She snuggled down farther under the blanket. Warp Core was curled up by her feet on the bed and Torpedo was stretched out next to her head, and their muted purring lulled her to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

Two weeks had passed since Hoshi had brought Warp Core and Torpedo on board. The cats had settled in, making themselves at home in her cabin.

They were the center of attention for numerous visitors who found their way to Hoshi's door for one transparent reason or another. She could have done without her cabin being referred to as the "cat house," however.

The cats also developed an annoying habit -- they kept getting out of the cabin when she wasn't there.

The first time, Trip had called her on the bridge from Engineering to tell her Warp Core had shown up there. The only thing Hoshi could think of was the cat must have slipped out of her cabin when she'd left that morning.

She'd asked Captain Archer for permission to retrieve Warp Core and take him back to her cabin. Embarrassed, she'd promised she would be more careful about keeping the cats in her quarters, but she'd seen the doubtful look Jon had given her as she exited the bridge.

The second time, Hoshi was eating lunch with Travis in the mess hall when Malcolm strode in, spotted her, and walked over.

"Torpedo is in the armory," he said bluntly.

"Isn't that where the torpedos are supposed to be?" Travis asked with a straight face.

Malcolm glared at him. With exquisitely precise pronunciation, he said, "Torpedo the cat."

Hoshi was puzzled. "How could he have gotten in the armory?"

"I have no idea how he got into _my_ armory," Malcolm said, "but it wouldn't have happened if he hadn't gotten out of _your_ cabin."

Hoshi shook her head. She'd been taking extra care to make sure the cats didn't slip out when she left each morning.

She pushed back her chair and stood, picking up her tray. "I'll go get him."

"Of course you will," Malcolm said testily. "The armory is no place for a cat."

Hoshi disposed of her tray and left the mess hall, Malcolm following her. As they walked down the corridor to the turbolift, she said, "I really have no idea how they get out. I've checked everything."

"They must be slipping out when you leave," Malcolm said, reaching past her and pushing the button to summon the turbolift.

"Not today," she said. "I know because I checked where they were before I went out the door. They were both curled up napping on the bed."

The turbolift arrived and they entered. Malcolm punched the button for F deck.

"I can't help wondering if someone's letting them out as a joke," Hoshi said thoughtfully. She glanced slyly at Malcolm. "Then again, there are only a few people who have access to entry codes."

Malcolm glared at her. "Letting animals run loose on the ship is not my idea of a joke."

The turbolift stopped and Malcolm led the way when the door opened. He strode off rapidly, and Hoshi had to hurry to keep up. Entering the armory, she was in time to see Malcolm fall forward and hit the deck with a thud as a gray streak ran between his legs.

"Bloody hell!" Malcolm yelled, rolling onto his back and clutching his knee.

Hoshi had the presence of mind to grab Torpedo as he shot toward the open door. Holding the squirming cat firmly against her chest, she asked Malcolm, "Are you OK?"

"That damn cat tripped me!" he said between clenched teeth.

"He didn't mean to," Hoshi said. "Besides, you should watch where you're walking. It's not Torpedo's fault he blends in with the deck plating."

"He could have at least made some noise to let me know he was there," Malcolm persisted.

The commotion had attracted the attention of the armory staff. As Foster came over to offer his boss a hand up, Hoshi reflected that Torpedo and Malcolm had some things in common. They were both usually rather quiet and both could move with an almost unnatural speed when the need arose.

With the crewman's help, Malcolm stood and gingerly put his weight on the leg. Satisfied it would support him, he looked accusingly at the cat.

Wrapped protectively in Hoshi's arms, Torpedo was hiding his head in the crook of her elbow. Hoshi herself was looking at Malcolm with wide, apprehensive eyes.

"I think I scared him more than he hurt me," Malcolm said, relenting. "Is he OK?"

"I think so."

Hoshi stroked Torpedo's head reassuringly and he purred faintly. To her surprise, the cat turned in her arms to look at Malcolm and silently mouthed a meow.

Hoshi held the cat out to him. "I think he's trying to say sorry."

Malcolm's expression clearly showed he thought she was daft as he took the cat from her. Torpedo immediately snuggled up, bumping the top of his head against Malcolm's chin. Hoshi was relieved when she caught Malcolm trying not to smile as he rearranged his grasp, holding the cat out in front of him so he could look him in the eye. Torpedo dangled limply in the air, staring back, not even his tail moving.

"We ought to classify you as a dangerous weapon," Malcolm said. "You're certainly living up to your name."

Grumbling about a backlog of work, Malcolm returned Torpedo to Hoshi.

On the way back to her cabin, there was another surprise. The turbolift halted on E deck, and in stepped Trip, a docile Warp Core draped over one shoulder.

"Look who I found in Engineering again," he said, stroking the orange fur.

"I can't believe this!" Hoshi said in exasperation. "How are they getting out?"

"Somebody's got to be letting 'em out," Trip said as she hit the button for C deck. "There's no way they could get out by themselves, not the way this ship is constructed. There aren't any uncovered vents in your quarters, are there?"

"No," she said. "That's the first thing I checked when Warp Core got out the first time."

The turbolift arrived at Hoshi's deck and they disembarked. Hoshi was walking ahead when a blur of orange rushed past her.

"Hey!" Trip called out. "He got away from me!"

Hoshi started to run after Warp Core but slowed when she saw him stop in front of her door. The cat hunkered down on his haunches and then jumped into the air. At the height of his leap, he made contact with the access control panel with both front paws.

When the door didn't open, Warp Core repeated the performance, but the door still didn't open.

A huge smile lit Hoshi's face and she gave Torpedo, still nestled in her arms, a squeeze.

"You're never going to get back in that way, Warp Core," she said. He looked up at her expectantly as she approached the door. "That only works from the inside."

"So that's how they're gettin' out," Trip drawled when he came up beside her. "Too bad Warp Core doesn't know your access code. Now that would have been a sight to see."

Trip told her he could rework the access panel so Hoshi could switch off the inside panel when she left. Unfortunately, he was still working on the injector problem and it could be several days before he could get around to performing that task.

The very same day, Hoshi returned to her cabin after her shift to find Torpedo in the cage. Malcolm had found him outside the armory and brought him back, taking the precaution of putting him in the cat brig, as he called it. It was the only sure-fire way to confine the cats.

The next morning, however, Hoshi didn't have the heart to cage the cats before she left. If her cabin was small enough that they felt the need to get out, she could only imagine how they would feel being cooped up in the cage for eight hours.

And so the cats continued to perform their Houdini routine. Warp Core almost always went to Engineering, but Torpedo developed a penchant for roaming, despite having a more cautious disposition than his brother.

One of Torpedo's unscheduled jaunts took him to the galley, where Chef informed her that the cat "was a perfect gentleman," waiting patiently for a treat and not once trying to jump onto the countertop where meals were being prepared. The incident reinforced Hoshi's belief that the cats had been pets aboard another ship, trained not to get onto counters in the galley.

Another time Torpedo visited sickbay. Hoshi arrived to find the doctor trying to soothe his creatures, which were screeching and hissing under the cat's watchful eyes. That the feline was sitting on one of the highest shelves seemed to anger Phlox's bat in particular, and it was shrieking at the top of its little bat lungs.

"Perhaps if the cats were more frequent visitors to sickbay," Phlox said over the din as he helped Hoshi climb up onto a countertop to retrieve Torpedo, "my creatures would get used to them."

"The captain said to keep them confined," Hoshi said, stretching out her hand toward Torpedo.

"That's rather an unnatural condition for cats," the doctor said. "They need a certain amount of room to move around, and two cats in a cabin the size of yours makes for a rather stressful situation. Their inclination to explore their surroundings is understandable. I believe there is an Earth saying about curiosity and cats."

"It's what kills them," Hoshi said flatly, stretching a little farther, "if I don't do it first out of frustration."

Torpedo deigned to sniff her hand, then leaped off the shelf to land heavily on the floor.

"Cats do have a perverse sense of humor, don't they?" Phlox said as he helped Hoshi down.

Hoshi brushed back a stray strand of hair as she blew out a breath in exasperation.

"What am I going to do with you?" she said to Torpedo, who was sitting in the middle of sickbay, one hind leg extended in the air as he groomed his nether regions.

"I wish I was that flexible," Phlox said.

Hoshi gave the doctor a disgusted look before gathering up the cat and heading back to her quarters.

Later, on her way to Engineering to retrieve Warp Core yet again, she reflected on the doctor's words. If it weren't for the captain's orders, she'd probably let the cats roam if they were so inclined. They seemed perfectly content to remain in her cabin so long as she was there. It was only when she was away that they became bored, or curious, or both.

Other than the hassle of chasing after them every time they got out, they hadn't caused any harm. Well, except for the time Torpedo had tripped Malcolm, but that had been an accident.

She entered Engineering to find Warp Core balanced on the platform railing at the warp engine controls, looking for all the world as if he were supervising Trip. The engineer was giving a running commentary on what he was doing and since there were no people near him Hoshi surmised he must be talking to the cat.

She crossed the deck to the bottom of the platform's ladder.

"Warp Core, you've been a naughty boy again," she scolded.

Warp Core looked down at her, his tail waving a languid greeting as his eyes squeezed almost all the way shut.

"Hey, Hoshi!" Trip said. "It's OK. He's been good the whole time he's been here."

"How long has he been here?" she asked as she climbed the ladder.

"About three hours."

"Three hours!" she said in dismay. "Why didn't you call me sooner?"

Trip grinned as he ran a cloth along the edge of the control panel. "Seems like you've been spendin' an awful lot of time chasin' after your cats, and I thought you could use a breather. Besides, Warp Core here has done me a big favor."

"Oh? What's that?" Hoshi asked, leaning against the railing. Warp Core, walking as delicately as if he were on a balance beam, came to her and bumped his head against her arm.

"You know that problem we've been having with the injector system?" Trip said. "Warp Core here solved it. Might even go so far as to say he helped us avert a major 'cat-astrophe.'"

Hoshi groaned at the bad pun and said, "I know some things about cats. And one of those things is that they don't have engineering degrees."

"Had nothin' to do with engineering," Trip said. "Look over there."

He pointed down to the main floor. At first she didn't know what she was supposed to be looking at, then she saw the open box on the maintenance table. There was a small, rodent-like animal in it.

"What is that?" she asked, both fascinated and repelled.

"Heck if I know," he said. "It's not from Earth, that's for sure. I figure it's some planet's equivalent of a rat. It was back behind one of the injector assembly housings, and Warp Core here sniffed it out."

"I hope that's all he did to it."

"One of the crew got it away from Warp Core after he snagged it. I don't know how long we woulda kept replacing parts before we figured out it wasn't some sort of metal fatigue. All along it was corrosion from that creature."

At her puzzled look, Trip explained. "It wasn't chewin' on anything. Far as I can tell, it has some kind of acidic secretion that was eating through the alloy. Phlox will be able to tell for sure."

Hoshi picked up Warp Core. "We'll have to see about getting you something extra special for dinner tonight as a reward," she said.

She hefted the big cat over her shoulder and began climbing down the ladder. Warp Core calmly endured the process, his head swiveling to look at some of the crewmembers working on the main floor.

When she reached the bottom, Trip called out.

"You know, you really ought to talk to the captain," he said, peering down at her from the platform. "Who knows if there are any more of those critters on board? The cats might be able to hunt them down."

She smiled up at him. "I've been trying to come up with a reason to persuade him to let the cats out. That's the best one so far."


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

Hoshi put both cats in the cage in her cabin in anticipation of Jon's arrival with Porthos. She hoped the animals' formal introduction to each other went well. The captain had reluctantly agreed to allow the cats freedom to roam most parts of the ship on a trial basis. Porthos was to be part of the trial.

Hoshi didn't think her appeal alone had swayed the captain to try this experiment -- Trip had made it a point to tell Jon about what Warp Core had done in Engineering.

Phlox, too, had put in a good word for the cats. He noted that their mental well-being was damaged by day-to-day confinement, not to mention there were morale benefits for the crewmembers who enjoyed pets.

The cats were looking accusingly at her through the bars as she hastily tidied her cabin before the captain's arrival. They were never locked up in the cage when she was home, and their stiff postures clearly indicated disapproval.

"You guys behave," she said. "You pass this test and you pretty much get to have the run of the ship, and I won't have to spend half my time chasing after you."

Warp Core mouthed a silent meow at her as if he understood. Torpedo merely stared at her with feline inscrutability.

The chime sounded and both cats looked toward the door. Hoshi took a deep breath and said, "Here goes."

She opened the door, and Jon entered cautiously with Porthos in his arms. "I thought it would be best if I held him at first," he said.

"Why don't you sit down and hold him," Hoshi said, motioning to the chair at her desk. "Get him down closer to their level. They won't feel so threatened that way."

"All right." Jon moved to sit down with Porthos on his lap.

Porthos, who had seemed happy to see Hoshi, suddenly saw the cats. His hackles rose as a low growl came from his throat, and his whole body went rigid.

"There, there, Porthos," Jon said. "They're just a couple of pussycats. They can't hurt you."

He continued to murmur reassuring words to the small dog. The growling eventually became intermittent, then ceased altogether, but Porthos' body remained tense.

"So far, so good," Hoshi said, sitting down on the floor next to the cage. "Ready for step two?"

"I guess," Jon said. "Go for it."

She slowly leaned over and opened the door to the cage. In keeping with their personalities, Warp Core at once stepped out while Torpedo backed up in the cage as far as he could go.

The softest of growls came from Porthos, who didn't take his gaze from the orange cat. Now that they were in close proximity, Hoshi realized that Warp Core was just as big, if not bigger, than Porthos. Of course, a lot of that was orange fur, but still...

Hoshi pulled the cat onto her lap and began to pet him. Warp Core submitted to the stroking but didn't begin his customary purring. He kept his gaze on the dog only a short leap away.

Torpedo, still in the back of the cage and showing no inclination to leave it, was also keeping a wary eye on the beagle.

This went on for several minutes. Hoshi began to relax, thinking this might actually work. She opened her mouth to tell the captain just that when, without warning, Porthos jumped from Jon's lap to land close to Warp Core.

Warp Core hissed and spit at the ferociously barking dog. The combined cat and dog noises, along with Jon's yelling at Porthos, produced an ear-splitting cacophony that hurt Hoshi's ears.

Warp Core slipped out of her grasp and ran to hide under the bunk. Hoshi was ready to call the whole thing quits when she saw Torpedo launch himself out of the cage to confront the beagle. Puffing up and moving sideways with his back arched, the gray-striped cat approached the barking dog. Just when Hoshi was sure Porthos would take a chunk out of him, Torpedo growled and lashed out with one of his front paws to thwack the dog on his sensitive nose.

Porthos yelped and jumped back to cower at Jon's feet.

In bemusement, Hoshi watched as Torpedo's tail lashed back and forth while he eyed his adversary. As if to say there was more where that came from, Torpedo lifted the paw he had hit Porthos with and began to lick delicately between the splayed clawed toes.

"I don't believe it," Jon muttered.

"I'm not sure I do, either," Hoshi said in amazement.

"Porthos usually won't back down for anything," he said, bending over to pick up the thoroughly cowed dog, whose normally wagging tail was tucked between his legs.

"Oh. I meant Torpedo actually jumping into the fight," Hoshi said. "He's usually so timid. Um...is Porthos OK?"

Jon inspected the end of the beagle's nose. "I don't see any scratches."

"Torpedo must have kept his claws in," Hoshi said, and began to laugh.

"I'm glad you find this whole thing funny," Jon said dryly as he petted Porthos.

"I'm not laughing at what happened," she said. "It's just that the cats are like Trip and Malcolm in feline form." She leaned over to pick up Torpedo. "Warp Core is outgoing and friendly, but tends to get into trouble. That's Trip."

Jon chuckled. "And Torpedo is quiet and cautious, until there's a definite threat. Then you couldn't want a better person...er, cat?...on your side. Just like Malcolm."

Hoshi put Torpedo on the bunk and leaned over to coax Warp Core out from underneath it.

"It's really kind of weird in a way," she said, wiggling her fingers to get the cat's attention. "Warp Core is always hanging around Trip and Engineering when he gets out of my cabin."

"Hasn't Torpedo shown up in the armory a few times?" Jon asked.

"Yes, but not always. And that's what's even weirder. It's almost like he's keeping an eye on everything, like a security officer would. Although he does go to the armory more than any other place."

A pink nose appeared from under the bunk to sniff Hoshi's fingers. The rest of the cat slunk out a moment later, rubbing against her hand. Hoshi picked Warp Core up and held him close.

"And here we all thought Torpedo was the scaredy-cat," she said to Warp Core. "Guess you'll have to take him along next time you go mousing in Engineering."

"Speaking of which," Jon said. "That 'mouse' he found must have gotten aboard when we traded supplies with that freighter a month ago. Phlox suspects it was in one of the crates, and Trip said one of them has marks in it similar to the injector pieces that were damaged."

"Does Doctor Phlox know where it's from originally?"

Jon shook his head and stood. "That's about enough for one day, don't you think?"

"Yes. All things considered, it went pretty well."

Looking down at the dog in his arms, Jon shrugged. "I don't know about that. But I think Porthos has revised his opinion of the cats. He'll probably be a lot more careful around them."

"I hope so. Who would have thought Torpedo would be such a tiger?"

Jon snorted as he headed for the door. "You've got one tiger, and the other is the cowardly lion. You don't happen to have a bear hidden away in your closet, do you?"

"Sir?"

"You know. 'Lions, and tigers, and bears--'"

"'Oh, my!'" she said as he stepped through the doorway.

In the corridor, he stopped to look back at her. "I'm hoping this works out, Hoshi. If the cats cause problems, you'll have to figure out some way to keep them contained."

"I know. I'm sure they won't. Cause problems, I mean."

Hoshi closed the door as he walked away. Looking over at the two cats engaged in a mutual grooming session on the bunk, she said softly, "I hope you two don't make a liar out of me."


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

Taking advantage of the captain's decision, Hoshi and the cats left the cabin together the next morning.

Hoshi was as anxious as a mother seeing her children off on their first day of school. She followed them all the way to Engineering before turning reluctantly toward the mess hall for breakfast.

She didn't see the cats the rest of the day, and she worried constantly about them. Her anxiety was greatly relieved when she found them waiting outside her cabin door eight hours later.

In the days that followed, Hoshi was amazed that no matter where the cats went during the day, they always seemed to know when it was end of shift. Each evening she'd find them lounging outside the cabin door, waiting to be let in.

Since she usually didn't see the cats during the day unless her duties took her away from the bridge, she learned how they kept themselves amused from the anecdotes crewmembers told her.

Warp Core, for example, spent most of his time in Engineering. He became the department's unofficial mascot, supervising whatever tasks were being done.

He developed a fondness for Trip's toolbox. If Trip left the box open, Warp Core would climb in and get comfortable, tucking his legs under him, and fall asleep. Trip told her that he hadn't realized how cold the metal tools were until Warp Core starting warming them up.

Torpedo, on the other hand, liked to roam the ship, despite his cautious nature.

Crewman Cunningham described how Chef would converse in French with Torpedo in the galley. The cat would meow back as if they were really talking to each other. Hoshi thought Torpedo was probably begging for a handout, but she'd never tell Chef that.

One morning when T'Pol was off duty, Torpedo showed up outside her door as she was returning from breakfast. She allowed the cat inside, and he spent two hours meditating with her.

T'Pol later told Hoshi that she was impressed by Torpedo's ability to stare at nothing unblinkingly for long periods of time. Hoshi refrained from telling her that humans referred to that particular cat phenomenon as "watching Martians."

At some point every afternoon, Torpedo would make his way to the armory, where he would curl up for a nap on the extra chair in Malcolm's office.

Phlox in particular seemed taken with the felines. He rambled on happily about them at lunch one day.

"Animals do have a place in medicine," he said as they ate. "Cats and dogs can have a calming influence on human patients, even to the extent of dropping elevated blood pressure. Warp Core and Torpedo's presence also seems to have a distracting effect on the more nervous members of the crew, taking their minds off their treatment."

Hoshi's fear that the cats would injure or kill some of Phlox's creatures never came to pass. The doctor took it upon himself to introduce the cats to all the other animals. Some of his menagerie weren't too pleased -- the bat especially recognized predators when it saw them -- but at least no one got eaten. The cats' curiosity was appeased and they showed only mild interest in the caged animals after that.

Mid-way through one boring afternoon about two weeks later, Hoshi tried to keep from yawning as she sat at her communications console. They were en route to a planet with a thriving mining industry where they might be able to restock some of their raw materials. Their metal stores in particular had taken a beating with the injector problem.

The captain called down to Engineering but before Trip could respond, a voice yelled in the background, "Look out! Warp core's going to blow!"

"Trip!" Jon said in alarm. "What's going on down there?"

Trip didn't answer. Instead, metallic crashing followed by swearing was heard on the bridge.

"Malcolm!" Jon said as he spun his chair to face the tactical station. "Sound abandon ship! We've got to start evacuating."

"Belay that!" T'Pol said, and Jon jerked his head toward her. "I have no internal readings to indicate anything is wrong with the warp engine."

From the shouts Hoshi could hear over the still-open comm link, she had come to the same conclusion, and she suddenly almost wished there really was something wrong with the warp engine.

"Then what--?" Jon began.

"Gotcha, ya little devil," came Trip's voice over the comm. "Sorry 'bout that, Cap'n. Warp Core the cat just got the rips."

"The rips?" Jon asked. "Is that another of those rodent things?"

"No, but we did catch another one of 'em today," Trip replied. "Warp Core just took off running around the engine like crazy. Rostov dropped his tool kit when Warp Core collided with his legs."

Jon cut the connection and stared at Hoshi, who was doing her best to blend in with her console the way Torpedo could with the deck plating. It didn't work. The captain's glare remained focused on her.

"The rips?" Jon asked.

"Cats do that, sir," she said. "It's a way to burn off excess energy. All of a sudden they just take off running. It's not like they play fetch or go for walks."

Jon's eyes narrowed, and she inwardly cursed her big mouth as he stood and approached her station.

"This is exactly what I was worried about when I decided, against my better judgment, to allow the cats out of your cabin," he said.

She watched as he paced to the tactical station.

"We almost abandoned ship," Jon said angrily. "Do you have any idea how much effort it takes to round up the escape pods once they've launched? Not to mention the possibility of someone getting hurt in the confusion?"

"Yes, sir. But--"

"I'm not finished!" He paced back to her station. "Whatever possessed you to name a cat 'Warp Core?'"

Hoshi looked up at him, an apologetic expression on her face. "Well, you did tell me to give them appropriate names, sir."

T'Pol spoke up. "I must point out that Ensign Sato has a point, Captain."

Jon whirled to face his first officer. She didn't back down under his glare.

"Granted, the choice of name is confusing," she said. "Perhaps if the crew is instructed to be more cautious in phrasing information..."

"And if the comm wasn't open, we wouldn't have heard it at all," Hoshi put in. "It was just a coincidence. It won't happen again."

Jon's head whipped around so he could look at Hoshi, and she saw some of his anger cool. He slowly walked back to his command chair.

"Still..." he said as he seated himself, resolve reappearing on his face.

Before Jon could finish his thought, Malcolm announced, "The turbolift has just arrived at the bridge, but whoever is inside hasn't come out."

Jon frowned. "Is there a malfunction?"

"I don't think so, sir," Malcolm said. "I'll check it."

The entire bridge crew watched as Malcolm walked over to the turbolift and pushed a button on the control panel. The door swooshed open but Hoshi couldn't see anything from her vantage point. Neither could Malcolm, apparently. She saw him glance around the interior in puzzlement -- until he looked down.

A fleeting smile crossed Malcolm's face, but he was his usual impassive self when he turned to face the captain. "I believe the rodent eradication staff has another kill to report, sir."

Torpedo trotted out of the turbolift, one of the rodent creatures clamped in his jaws.

The cat paused on the upper walk-around for only a moment before stepping down to the command level. He walked up to Jon, dropped the rodent at his feet, and sat down, looking up at the captain expectantly. Hoshi could hear Torpedo's purr all the way over at her station.

When Jon finally tore his incredulous gaze away the cat to look at Hoshi, she said softly, "He wants you to praise him, sir."

Jon looked back down at the gray-striped cat, who squeezed his eyes shut at him, purring louder.

"How...?" Jon said. "How did he know I'm the one in charge?"

"That's easy, sir," she said, knowing she was probably going to get in trouble but needing to say it anyway. "If you'll pardon me for saying so, on Enterprise, you're the Big Cheese."

* * *

"You don't know how lucky you are, Torpedo," Hoshi said as she lay on her side stroking the cat. 

She looked at Warp Core lounging on the desk chair in her cabin, his front paws hanging off the seat. "And you, too, although what happened with that misunderstanding wasn't your fault."

The captain probably would have gone through the roof but for the fact that Torpedo had presented him with irrefutable evidence of his and Warp Core's usefulness. But she was still worried he might change his mind and order that the cats be confined again.

Perhaps if she could get Porthos to accept the cats, the captain would be won over completely. As she stroked Torpedo, a plan came to mind.

Hoshi waited until it was time for the captain to take Porthos on his usual evening walk.

She left her quarters carrying Torpedo, hoping she could act nonchalant when they ran into the captain. But the darn cat was heavy, and strolling along the corridors with 12 kilograms in her arms was tiresome. She put him down, hoping he'd follow her.

As she straightened up, Torpedo's ears flicked back. He turned to face the direction from which they'd come. Her own ears picked up the sound of toe nails clicking on the deck plating.

Hoshi took a deep breath as she waited for the captain and his dog to round the curve in the corridor.

Porthos appeared first, his nose twitching as he scented cat. The beagle turned in Hoshi's direction, and froze at the sight of Torpedo.

Jon stepped around the curve. He, too, froze in place. "Uh-oh," he muttered.

Torpedo sized up Porthos. He hadn't puffed up, which Hoshi took as a good sign, and he wasn't making that weird combination howl and growl cats make when they are about to fight. But his tail was switching to and fro.

"Tell Porthos to sit, sir," Hoshi suggested.

Jon nodded. "Sit, Porthos!"

The beagle didn't respond at first, but when Jon ordered him again more sternly, his rump slowly descended until it made contact with the deck.

Hoshi lifted her hand to her breast pocket, intending to produce the piece of cheese she'd brought along as a peace offering, when a hacking sound from near her feet made her glance down.

Torpedo was hunched into a compact bundle. As Hoshi watched, he issued another raspy hack, and his whole body shook. There were two or three seconds of silence. Then he hacked again...and again...and again...and again.

Porthos watched curiously, his ears cocking each time Torpedo made that terrible noise.

At last there was the sound of something being expelled, and up came the hairball.

Hoshi grimaced. "I'm sorry, sir. I'll get something to clean that up right away."

Jon paid no attention to her. He was watching Porthos slowly approach the cat. The captain was poised on the balls of his feet, ready to tackle Porthos if an interspecies conflict erupted.

Emulating the captain, Hoshi tensed, preparing to leap into the impending fray.

Torpedo, the picture of misery, was still hunched on the deck. As the dog came closer, the cat slowly squeezed its green eyes shut.

Neither pet lover expected what happened next. Porthos cautiously sniffed Torpedo's nose, then began to lick him. Tentative at first, the dog was soon vigorously licking Torpedo all over. To Hoshi's astonishment, the cat began to purr.

"Well," Hoshi said. "This is going better than I expected."

As soon as the words were out, she realized she'd let the cat out of the bag and clamped a hand over her mouth. She lifted her gaze from the animals to find Jon looking at her through narrowed eyes.

"You set this up on purpose," he said.

"Yes, sir. I did," she said sheepishly.

"It might not have turned out like this," he said, looking down at the animals. Torpedo was stretched out on his side, luxuriating under the massage Porthos was giving him.

"I know, sir," she said, adding with an impudent grin, "but it did work out."

"Lucky for you," he said sternly, but Hoshi could see a twinkle in his eye. "What did you have planned next?"

"Well, good behavior should be rewarded and reinforced. I just happen to have Porthos' favorite treat with me."

She produced the cheese from her pocket and kneeled next to the animals. Two quivering noses turned in her direction, and two sets of eyes focused on the food in her hand. She tore the cheese in two and gave each one a piece.

As Porthos gobbled his portion and Torpedo gnawed on his, Jon squatted on the other side of the animals. He scratched Porthos behind the ears and chuckled.

"I may be the Big Cheese on this ship," Jon said, "but you, Hoshi Sato, are a sneaky rat."


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

The incoming hail broke the quiet of the bridge.

"It's from an Earth freighter, the Southern Cross," Hoshi said, her hand to her earpiece. "They're under attack."

Jon and the bridge crew waited as Hoshi listened intently to the message.

"That's all there is, sir, and a set of coordinates," she said. Transferring the information to the other stations on the bridge, she added, "They're not responding to our hail."

Jon leaned forward in his chair. "Lay in a course, Travis. Warp 5. T'Pol, can you pick up anything on long-range scans?"

"Not at this distance," she said.

"Malcolm, sound the alert," Jon said. "I want the crew to be ready for whatever we find when we get there."

"Aye, sir."

The bridge crew waited in silence as Enterprise covered the distance. Hoshi continued to try to raise the freighter. At Jon's inquiring glance, she shook her head.

At the back of Hoshi's mind, a tiny thought kept niggling at her -- she hoped the cats would be OK if it came down to a fight. Much as she'd like to track them down and put them in their cage, she couldn't leave her post.

T'Pol broke the brittle silence. "I'm picking up one freighter and two other vessels. The other ships do not match any configuration in our databases."

Jon stood. "Put it onscreen."

The field of stars shimmered to reveal a long freighter. Two gaping holes were visible in its hull and vapor issued from several smaller rents. A ship the size of Enterprise was off the cargo ship's bow while another was docked with it.

"They're armed," Malcolm said, looking at readouts on his tactical console. "Nothing that should give us too much trouble, though."

"Good," Jon said. "Hoshi, hail those other vessels."

The response to the hail was immediate.

"The vessel that's not docked is moving in our direction," Malcolm said. "It's powering up weapons."

"Polarize the hull plating," Jon said as a beam of white lanced out from the oncoming ship.

Enterprise shook slightly.

"If that's the way you want to be," Jon muttered. More loudly he said, "Target their weapon ports and fire."

The firefight was over almost as soon as it had begun. Twin phase cannon beams shot out from Enterprise, knocking out the other ship's weapons. But as Enterprise came alongside, an alarm beeped on the tactical console.

"Indication of multiple transporter activity," Malcolm said, his voice tight. "Someone's transported aboard."

"Where?" Jon asked.

T'Pol, her eyes glued to the scanner on her console, said, "Engineering and the corridor outside the mess hall."

Hoshi's head shot up. Warp Core no doubt was in Engineering. She hoped he kept his furry little head down.

Jon glanced at Malcolm, who was keying in commands on his console. "Get security to both those places."

"Already on their way," Malcolm said as he rushed for the turbolift.

* * *

A shout from Crewman Dillard was the first indication Trip had that something was wrong. He turned from the warp controls and saw Dillard grappling on the main floor with an gray-skinned alien clad in leathery pants and tunic. 

Trip leapt over the platform railing to drop on the alien's back, knocking both the alien and Dillard to the deck. The intruder was stunned by the impact, and Trip yanked the weapon from his grasp.

Holding the gun on the intruder, Trip got to his feet. A quick glance showed his Engineering crew valiantly fighting the aliens.

Trip's momentary distraction was all his downed opponent needed. The alien's foot lashed out, kicking the weapon from his hand. But before the alien could get up, however, Dillard struck him in the head with a spanner, knocking him out.

Trip nodded his thanks and turned to see how the rest of his staff was faring, only to find himself facing the business end of another weapon. A cruel smile crossed the alien's face as its owner began to pull the trigger.

The smile turned to a scream as an orange blur fell from the upper level and landed on the intruder's head. He dropped the gun and grabbed at the hissing cat which was now clawing viciously at his face and neck.

Trip dove for the dropped weapon and retrieved it. Before he could fire, however, a phase pistol blast from the direction of the hatch struck the alien in the chest. As the intruder began to topple, Warp Core leaped clear to land at Trip's feet.

The other intruders were quickly subdued by the arriving security team. Trip, after a quick stroke of thanks to Warp Core's head, went to the comm panel to report to the bridge.

* * *

Malcolm arrived on E deck to find a security team outside the mess hall. 

"They went inside, sir," Zabel said, his phase pistol in his hand. "What do they want in the mess hall?"

The door to the mess hall opened and three gray-skinned aliens rushed out, firing as they ran. The security team and Malcolm were pinned down by bolts of energy coming their way.

Malcolm cautiously stuck his head out far enough to see their quarry getting away. They were firing as they backed hurriedly down the corridor, and didn't see what Malcolm saw.

A streak of gray sped out from a cross corridor and stopped to huddle in the middle of the deck. The lead alien backed into Torpedo and sprawled on the deck, his gun flying out of his hand.

The noise of the fall and Torpedo's outraged scream drew the other intruders' attention away from the security team, who fired with precision to drop them.

Malcolm ran down the corridor, covering the alien whose downfall was the puffed-up cat that stood off to one side. Torpedo emitted a loud growl that ran up and down the scale.

Malcolm picked up the gun and two of the security team hauled the alien to his feet.

"Lock these three up," he said. "I've got to see what's going on in Engineering."

Malcolm took a moment to look down at the cat, who was now licking his back where the alien had tripped over him.

"You OK?" he asked Torpedo.

The cat paused in its grooming to stare up at him.

"You're welcome in my armory any day," Malcolm said softly before trotting off down the corridor.

Much to Malcolm's relief, the other security team had the situation in hand by the time he arrived at Engineering. Members of his staff were escorting the subdued aliens out of the department.

"Has your crew been practicing self-defense without me knowing it?" he asked Trip as the last of the intruders were led away.

"We did do pretty good, didn't we?" he said, stroking the purring orange cat he held in his arms. "But we had some help."

"My security team arrived in the nick of time, then," Malcolm said with a touch of pride.

"Actually, it wasn't them, either," Trip said, a grin lighting his face when he saw Malcolm's puzzled expression. "It was this fellow here."

Warp Core stretched out his neck for Trip to rub under his chin.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, he leaped from the upper level," Trip said. "Dropped right on the face of one of those guys -- the one who was about to shoot me at point-blank range."

Malcolm grinned back and shook his head.

"You don't believe me?" Trip asked.

"Under normal circumstances, I'd be inclined to doubt you. But you're not going to believe what his brother did a few minutes ago..."

Leaving Engineering a few minutes later to check on the prisoners, Malcolm wondered if the captain was going to believe either his or Trip's report.

* * *

Hoshi hurried to her quarters at the end of her shift and was surprised to find both cats waiting outside her door as usual. She'd thought for sure they would have been hiding somewhere after all the excitement. 

The attack on the freighter, intruders on board Enterprise, another brief fight with the second ship after it disengaged from the freighter -- what with all the alarms and sudden changes in the ship's flight path, she knew she'd be in a hidey-hole somewhere if she were a cat.

She was sitting on the bed, brushing Warp Core's coat, when the door chime sounded.

"Come in," she called out.

The door slid aside to reveal Malcolm, a can in his hand.

"More tuna?" Hoshi asked as he entered, the door closing behind him. "You're going to spoil them with that high-class diet."

Torpedo, who had been stretched out on the floor, got up and went to rub against Malcolm's legs.

"I only wish I had something better to offer them," he said. "Hoshi, you're not going to believe what those two did today. I know I wouldn't if I hadn't seen part of it."

The chime sounded again.

"Come in," Hoshi called out.

This time Trip was standing there. He was holding a small bag.

"I brought something for the cats," he said, stepping into the cabin. "Found out Chef was growin' some catnip. After today, these guys deserve it."

"What are you two talking about?" Hoshi asked, looking from Trip to Malcolm.

Malcolm gestured to Trip to begin and seated himself at Hoshi's desk.

"Well," Trip said, opening the bag and taking out a pinch of catnip. Immediately both cats were at his feet, meowing and weaving back and forth. "Warp Core was in Engineering when those alien goons transported in. You shoulda seen it..."


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

Captain Archer contacted the attackers' homeworld and found out that the two attacking vessels had been stolen by a band of thieves. Not very good thieves, either. Their first attempt at robbing a freighter had wound up with their capture, and authorities from their planet were on the way to take them into custody.

Even their attempt to board Enterprise had been bungled, and not just because of the attack cats, as some of the crew were calling them. Confused perhaps by the mess hall being located on the same deck as Engineering, the aliens had beamed there thinking they'd find some important equipment. Instead, they'd found an irate Chef brandishing a frying pan. Chef was still in a snit -- breakfast this morning hadn't been up to his usual high standards.

While Enterprise had sustained little damage in the fight, the attackers had made a mess of the freighter. Enterprise personnel were helping to patch things up so the Southern Cross could make it back to Earth for more extensive repairs.

Hoshi was on her way to the freighter when she passed Jon in the corridor.

"Hoshi! Wait up a minute," Jon called after her.

She turned and looked at him. "Sir?"

"Going to help with repairs?"

"Yes, sir," she said. "One of the hits the Southern Cross took sent a power surge through their communications system. It's pretty much shot."

"I just wanted to tell you... When you brought those cats on board...well, I thought it was a disaster just waiting to happen. I'm happy to be proven wrong."

"I know, sir," she said. At his look of amusement, she hastily added, "I mean you thought they'd cause problems, not that you're happy to be wrong. But even I didn't expect things to turn out the way they did."

"If it weren't for the fact that two of my senior officers told me what those cats did, I'm not sure I'd believe it," Jon said. "But from now on, Warp Core and Torpedo have free run of the ship, no conditions attached. Who knows when we'll need their help again," he added with a rueful smile.

Several hours later, Hoshi wiggled out from under a console on the bridge of the Southern Cross. The internal comm system was working, but she needed to check a few things before the freighter would be able to send and receive messages.

"Is it working?" asked Linda, the wife of the freighter's captain. She was also second-in-command aboard the Southern Cross.

"I think so," Hoshi said, keying in a few test commands on the console. "But I need to run a calibration sequence."

"Why don't we take a break?" the woman said. "How about a cup of tea in the mess?"

Hoshi smiled and nodded. "Sounds good."

They headed off the bridge, Linda talking brightly about life aboard the Southern Cross. As was typical of many freighters, the ship was owned and operated by a family who lived on board.

The family-oriented atmosphere was reinforced when Hoshi and Linda entered the mess. Seated at one of the tables was a young girl about six years old. She was dressed in a bright jumper and her longish brown hair was tied back in pigtails.

She didn't look up when the two women approached her table after getting their tea. The unsmiling girl was engrossed in the picture she was drawing.

"This is my daughter, Hannah," said Linda. "Hannah, this is Ensign Sato."

Not looking up from her drawing, Hannah said dispiritedly, "Hi."

Hoshi glanced inquiringly at Linda who was frowning slightly.

"Hannah, please don't be rude," Linda said. "These nice people are helping us fix the ship."

"I know," Hannah said, still focused on the paper in front of her.

Linda sighed and motioned for Hoshi to join her at a table some distance away from her daughter.

"Is she upset by the attack?" Hoshi asked softly.

"Actually, the attack didn't seem to bother her as much as I thought it would." Linda sipped her tea for a moment. "She's been like this for some time -- withdrawn, never smiling or laughing. She's spent all her free time drawing ever since--"

The comm panel near the door chirped.

"Well, at least something's working," Linda said with a small smile as she got up to answer.

While Linda conversed on the comm, Hoshi watched Hannah. The little girl was totally focused on her work, her tongue sticking out the side of her mouth as she used a crayon.

"I've got to get down to one of the cargo holds," Linda said as she came back and picked up her cup. "They're not sure what got blown out into space when the hull was ruptured and they need the manifest."

Hoshi began to stand but Linda motioned for her to remain. "No, stay and finish your tea. It's the least we can offer for all your help."

"All right," Hoshi said. "I'll head back up to the bridge when I finish."

Well, this is awkward, Hoshi thought after Linda left. She was sitting here drinking tea with no one else around but a moody little girl.

Curiosity got the better of her after a few minutes of watching Hannah. What was she working on so diligently? Picking up her cup, she walked over to the little girl.

"May I join you?" Hoshi asked.

"Sure," said Hannah, not taking her eyes from the paper.

Hoshi sat down and craned her neck to get a better view of the picture. Even upside down, she could tell it was a drawing of two animals and a person.

"What are you coloring?" Hoshi asked.

"My pets."

"And that person with them must be you."

"Yeah, but not any more."

Hoshi couldn't miss the forlorn note in the girl's voice.

"Why's that?" Hoshi asked sympathetically, hoping her pets hadn't been killed in the attack.

"They're not here any more. Mommy thinks maybe they got on another ship. I think those traders we met took them on purpose."

"May I?" Hoshi asked, reaching to pull the paper toward her. As she turned the drawing around, her breath caught in her throat.

"Your pets were cats?" she asked.

"Yeah," Hannah said, twirling a black crayon around in her fingers.

One of the cats had black stripes on gray. Hannah had colored the other cat orange, the lighter ruff around its neck making it look like a miniature lion.

As the implications of the picture hit Hoshi, she felt a sharp stab of selfishness even as her heart went out to the little girl.

"They're very handsome kitties," Hoshi said, trying to keep her voice light. "They look like they're really big, too."

"Oh, yeah!" Hannah said with the first trace of animation that Hoshi had seen. "I could hardly pick them up when I was little. Now that I'm a big girl, I bet I could do it."

Hannah sniffed and dashed a hand across one eye. "Mommy says I'm a big girl now, and I shouldn't cry any more about Pumpkin and Smokey. But I miss them."

"Hannah, I need to get back to the bridge but I would like to see your picture when it's finished, if that's OK with you?"

"Sure," the little girl said, shrugging. "Everybody's tired of seeing my pictures. They say I should draw something else."

Hoshi returned to the bridge, her thoughts on the little girl who missed her two cats so much that she spent all her time drawing pictures of them. There were just too many similarities for Warp Core and Torpedo not to be the missing cats.

But, darn it! The cats had finally won over Captain Archer and had been given free run of the ship. All the crewmembers liked them, too.

And she had become used to them curling up with her every night before she fell asleep. It was like having a little bit of her childhood on board Enterprise with her. They had become familiar and comforting creatures in her small shipboard world.

Phlox had said something about their coloring being rather common. Torpedo and Warp Core weren't the only two cats in the galaxy that looked like that. Maybe they weren't Hannah's cats, Hoshi tried to persuade herself.

And even if they were, no one on board the Southern Cross knew about the cats on Enterprise. If she didn't say anything, she could keep them, and no one would be the wiser.

She sighed as she remembered Phlox saying that pets could also have an effect on a person's mental state. Hannah obviously had taken the loss of her pets hard.

By the time Hoshi finished the calibrations, she'd reached a decision. She went to find Hannah's mother before returning to Enterprise.

* * *

"Bye, guys," Hoshi whispered. "I'm going to miss you." 

The two cats were in the cage. She had put the toys they'd accumulated, along with the catnip and a can of tuna, in a carrying bag.

Until it was actually time for the cats to leave, she hadn't realized how many of the crew were as attached to them as she was. She'd had numerous visitors to her cabin once word got out that Warp Core and Torpedo -- alias Pumpkin and Smokey -- were leaving.

Hoshi was pleased that she had been right about a few things -- the cats had indeed lived aboard a freighter and they were used to being put in a traveling cage -- but it didn't make her any less sad that the cats were leaving.

Only the fact that she'd also been right about someone taking good care of them helped ease her sadness. That little girl needed the cats more than she did.

Travis arrived to carry the cats to the airlock. He didn't talk on the way there, for which Hoshi was glad. She just wanted to get this over with.

All the repair crews were back on board. Once the cats were handed over, Enterprise's business with the Southern Cross would be done and the ships would go their separate ways. So when they rounded the last corner, Hoshi was startled to see the entire security staff lined up on either side of the corridor.

She looked over to find Travis grinning at her.

"You didn't think we'd let them go without a proper Starfleet send-off, did you?" he asked.

She was speechless as Travis put down the cage and Malcolm's voice rang out, "Attention!"

The cats' ears flattened against their heads and the security team immediately snapped to attention. Down the corridor, Hoshi saw the captain and Trip at the airlock. Next to them were Linda and Hannah, the little girl's eyes as wide as saucers.

The two cats pressed up against the bars of the cage, their gazes fixed on the small group by the airlock.

Jon turned toward Hannah and her mother. Looking down at the little girl, he said, "Hannah, I believe we found something that belongs to you. But before they go home, I want to present you with a token of our gratitude."

The little girl tore her gaze away from the cats to peer up at the man who dwarfed her. "Huh?" she said.

Jon squatted to look Hannah in the eye. She eyed him back curiously.

"Your cats have been a big help on our ship," he said. "There were some mice in our engine room, and they caught them for us."

"That's what Pumpkin and Smokey do on our ship," Hannah said solemnly.

"They also helped us catch those bad people who tried to take the cargo from your daddy and mommy's ship."

"Did those people look like mice?" Hannah asked.

"No, they didn't look like mice," Jon said as he chuckled, "but Pumpkin and Smokey helped just the same."

Trip leaned over and handed the captain a plaque.

"Your mother said you could hang this in your cabin," Jon said. "It shows how grateful we are for all the help your cats gave us. Can you read it, or do you want me to read it to you?"

"You read it," she said. "I'm not that good at big words yet."

"All right."

Standing and facing the cats and crew, Jon read, "For service above and beyond the call of duty, for diligent patrolling of the ship as members of the rodent eradication squad, for their willingness to give up one of their nine lives in defense of their crewmates, and for providing much appreciated morale boosts, the crew of Enterprise NX-01 hereby declares Pumpkin and Smokey, also known as Warp Core and Torpedo, honorary crewmembers of Starfleet's finest ship."

It was so hokey but Hoshi couldn't help it -- tears started trickling down her cheeks halfway through the captain's speech. She caught Linda's eye at the opposite end of the corridor, and saw the sheen of unshed tears glistening in her eyes.

The notes of the bosun's whistle sliced through the air and Travis unlatched the cage. Warp Core bounded out and raced down the corridor, jumping into Hannah's outstretched arms and causing the little girl to stagger under his weight.

"See, Mommy?" she said happily as she hugged the orange cat. "I told you I could hold them all by myself now!"

Hoshi looked down to see Torpedo warily emerging from the cage. He eyed the security team as if it were a gauntlet to run, which is exactly what he did when the piercing bosun's whistle sounded again. At the last moment, he veered sharply off course to climb Malcolm like a tree.

"Ow!" cried Malcolm as claws dug through his uniform.

Hoshi hurried forward to help Malcolm.

"He likes you!" Hannah said in amazement. "He doesn't climb anybody but Daddy."

"Lucky me," Malcolm muttered under his breath as Hoshi helped detach the cat which was firmly hooked to his collar and sleeve. She could hardly shush him for her laughter.

Hoshi gathered the striped cat in her arms and turned to give him to Linda. She gave Torpedo -- no, Smokey -- one last squeeze and a quick kiss to the top of his head before handing him and the bag to the other woman.

Linda gave Hoshi a grateful smile and looked down at her daughter. "Don't you have something for Ensign Sato, Hannah?" she asked.

"Oh, yeah." The little girl put the orange cat down and reached into her hip pocket to pull out a folded piece of paper.

"This is for you," she said, holding it out.

Hoshi took the paper and unfolded it. It was Hannah's drawing of her and the cats. The tears banished by Torpedo's antics threatened to spring forth again.

Kneeling down in front of Hannah, she looked at the little girl and said, "I'll put this in a special place where I can see it every day. Now I have something to remember them -- and you -- with. Thank you."

Hannah leaned forward and gave Hoshi a hug. "Thanks for bringing my kitties home," the little girl said softly in her ear.

Hoshi watched as Hannah, with some difficulty, scooped Pumpkin up in her arms and left through the airlock, followed by her mother carrying Smokey. Both cats looked back at Hoshi just before the door closed.

Hoshi stared at the airlock door for a few moments, composing herself. To her relief, when she stood and turned around, she saw only Trip. Everyone else had quietly slipped away.

"I'm going to miss those little furballs," Trip said.

"Me, too," Hoshi said, a sniff escaping her as she looked down at the picture.

"You need a nice frame for that," Trip said. "I could put something together in a few minutes, if ya like."

"I'd appreciate that," Hoshi said, giving him a grateful smile.

"Wood or metal?"

"I don't know. What do you think?"

The topic of what material to use kept them occupied for the entire walk to Engineering.

--- THE END ---


End file.
